First Alcohol Liaison Midwife appointed in Northern Ireland

29/10/2013

In advance of Alcohol Awareness Week (18-24 November), The Southern Health and Social Care Trust has announced the appointment of an Alcohol Liaison Midwife – the first such appointment in Northern Ireland.

In advance of Alcohol Awareness Week (18-24 November), The Southern Health and Social Care Trust has announced the appointment of an Alcohol Liaison Midwife – the first such appointment in Northern Ireland.

This post is funded by the Big Lottery Fund as part of Impact of Alcohol, a nationwide programme which aims to address the harm caused by alcohol misuse.

Dr Esther Reid, who has worked as a Registered Midwife, Health Visitor and Practice Education Facilitator for the Southern Trust, will work with other services to develop a specialist midwifery service to identify and support pregnant women with alcohol misuse during pregnancy.

This work will include increasing awareness, support and teaching of staff within maternity services in relation to: alcohol consumption in pregnancy, improved screening, development of a care pathway, appropriate interventions, on-going guidance and much more.

Kieran Devlin, Southern Trust Impact of Alcohol Portfolio Manager explained how this unique job was created: “This post is part of the variety of projects included in the Southern Area Impact of Alcohol Portfolio which has a total of 8 services covering all of our area; it has been funded through the Big Lottery Fund and will continue for three years. We are extremely happy to have these new innovative services in the Southern area and look forward to the positive impact they will have upon the misuse and abuse of Alcohol as well as building positive relationships between the Trust and the community voluntary sector.”

Joanne McDowell, the Big Lottery Fund’s NI Director, said: “We are delighted that the Impact of Alcohol programme is supporting community based projects that are playing a key role in tackling alcohol misuse in Northern Ireland.

By working with the Southern Health and Social Care Trust we are building on existing experience and expertise in this area and using this funding to tackle the range of issues affecting people, families and the wider community that have resulted from alcohol misuse. The appointment of the first Alcohol Liaison Midwife is a great example of this.”

Patricia McStay, Southern Trust Head of Midwifery/Gynaecology said: “The appointment of the first Alcohol Liaison Midwife in Northern Ireland is significant step forward in addressing the hidden harm caused by maternal alcohol consumption to the unborn baby and the impact on families.”